I rewatched some games and came away with a few end of the year thoughts in a random order.

1. Mike Martin should have played much more. He's a freak. Strong and quick, he can win his matchup in more than one way. He's more of an all around DT than some billed him as. The guy may have been our best DT this year, we just did not play him enough. Hopefully they realize this and capitalize on his potential next year, I think he would be a solid starter with Casey.

Resigning Marks would be ok, but I think we should try to add another player here.

2. We need DE's for the rotation in a bad way, I think it's our biggest need. I'm satisfied with Morgan at a LDE. He's not going to be an elite pass rusher, but he's good against the run and got a good amount of pressure. Maybe he can refine his game a bit more and turn some of those pressures into sacks. Wimbly was below average, I'm afraid this is a bust FA signing. Solomon did not look impressive.

The other guys we have are either old or have floated around the league for a few years. Not guys I'd build around. Ayers can help with pressure we know (finally), but we need much more help outside.

3. We need o-line obviously, I'd guess 3 starters are here. The OT's, and Velasco. Velasco is versatile and strong, just lacks some foot speed. I think they will find a spot for him next year. With Munch already talking about new o-lineman, looks like we may go after a few in FA and the draft.

I wouldn't try to bring Amano or Harris back. I'd try to resign Lutui, with no guarantee he'll start. I think our backup OT's are ok, I'd look for inside starters and possibly depth (I'd probably look to upgrade Matthews spot). If Hutchinson comes back, I'd be fine with that as I thought he did a decent job (as long as the injury doesn't look to hurt his performance). But I thought it was kinda odd for Munch to say something about him considering retirement...is that a hint? A suggestion? I don't know, but kind of an odd thing to say to the media imo.

4. I loved Markelle Martin, but we didn't get to see him. Does that put him behind the curve for being considered for a starting spot next year? Lost in the shuffle so to speak? If they go for a S in FA or the draft (which I assume they will), they could get the nod over him, it's just the way it seems to work at times in the league. Either way, we need a freakin safety. I'm sure we'll retain and start Griffin, but we all already know the deal there with his performance...up and down, up and down. It'd be nice to have one solid, consistent starter wouldn't it?

5. Should we draft a starter opposite McCourty. Verner looked very so-so to me, maybe his best role is solely at NB. It's hard to say what kinda shot Campbell or Sensabaugh have at starting. I'm not sure exactly what to think here as I know more pressure on the QB will help the secondary, and those pressure guys would be my first priority. I guess the argument is there for drafting a CB early even if it's not our biggest need.

6. Do we need a power runner? I must confess my love for the power run game, so I could be biased. I also won't say this a huge need, kinda just thinking out loud here. I love CJ and want to get the ball in his hands a lot, but the idea of a fast back paired with a power back has worked many times before. Of course better blocking will help the run game, but in certain situations maybe a bulldozer carrying the ball is needed.

Ringer isn't that guy. I still do really like him, but wonder how important he is to us. Can Harper be that guy? He was bashed for not being a tough runner during the draft, and I still see the tendency for him to think his speed will get him to the edge. But he has lowered his shoulder at times, and he's a big boy. Now we haven't seen Mooney much at all, but I still like his potential. He was a strong, downhill runner in college. He was also a good blocker, and has good quickness and speed. There was talk of Harper filling a FB/power runner role, but Mooney has already done it and done it well.

Our T.O.P. sucks again. A power run game could help sustain drives and give us other options than CJ's speed and Locker's arm. Which leads me to...

7. The last thing I want to mention is mostly just a concern of the direction and identity of this team. When we drafted Wright in the first, it seemed apparent that this team was going to sling the ball after spending lots of high and mid round draft picks on receiving talent (I consider what we've used on TE's also). We've always pass blocked well. The big question was how would Locker respond if he started? Well Locker did get injured, and we had no stability at QB, Britt wasn't 100 %, but those excuses don't ease my fears much. I know Locker deserves more time, but my gut tells me we may have just thrown a bunch of mismatched ingredients into our offense.

Jake has never looked like he was a pure drop back passer, yet we've set up an offense around him like we want to be the next version of The Greatest Show on Turf (ok grass in this case). I can't say I don't see the reasoning here, give the guy all the weapons he can get, but the QB still has to have the ability to do his part...not throw the ball 10 ft over some one's head or straight into the ground at his feet. We heard he had some problems setting his feet, maybe technique tweaks could cure his accuracy issues. Ultimately, we saw no progression this year.

I want to drink koolaid and say all the blame lies on coordinator, o-line problems, not being totally healthy...next year we will be awesome! But from watching and rewatching games this year, this team has to make huge leaps to become an explosive offense no matter how much we've invested in it. Which leads me back to the earlier thoughts. Get d-line and a bit of secondary help. Plug in a few new o-line and try some power run game and return to a good t.o.p. team. Ask Jake to be more like McNair than Warner. Basically become the old Titans lol. Too much change to ask for? I don't know. Just like I don't know what the identity of this team is...does anyone?

Bobo I think you hit the nail on the head. Martin is our best pass rushing DT (aside from Klug, who doesn't play anymore). And is a good penetrator. He and Casey need to be playing alongside each other.

To me, Morgan and Wimbley are both slightly above average DEs. I'm ok with one of them starting, and the other in rotation but we need a pass rusher at DE whether it's Osi, Michael Johnson, Damontre Moore, Barkevious Mingo, Jarvis Jones etc. We are really only 1 deep at DE and in this league you have to realistically have at least 3 guys, preferably 4. We need to sign one AND take one in the first 2-3 rounds. Why we have ignored it the past few years is beyond me.

On the line I'd bring back Roos, Stewart and Hutch (if he doesn't retire). Bring back Velasco and Harris if they are ok competing for a job. Go out and grab someone to compete. You can grab interior lineman in the 3-4 that can start day one.

I think Markelle Martin will be the backup to Griffin. He's nearly a Griffin clone (good and the bad). We need a SS in a bad way.

I don't know if you spend a high draft pick on a CB, maybe in the 3rd at the earliest unless the value is just too great to pass up. I have felt for many years we needed to upgrade the pass rush because you can't properly grade your DBs until you have a pass rush. We put up decent sack numbers this year, but weren't getting pressure on a regular basis to grade.

I go back years on the fact we never should have let Blount go, why did we do that? Either way, I think we need another RB to at least get some carries. CJ would have likely had 5ypc this season if they had another back to take some pressure off. Jamaal Charles is usually fresh because they rotate a few backs in, and it will lengthen his career. If we really want a power runner, I think it may be best to go all out and get Eddie Lacy, Montee Ball, Stefan Taylor, Le'Veon Bell or Christine Michael. If we don't get one of those two, I just assume wait and grab someone like Rex Burkhead or Knile Davis really late. Christine Michael may be my favorite simply for the value, he's currently ranked 144 overall (which would place him in about the 4-5 rounds)
Another intriguing thing for me is if Marcus Lattimore is there in say round 3 or 4, do you grab him? Knowing he would not need to be rushed right into a role? He could sit the whole year out if needed and could play again in 2014 when CJ will be 29?

As for Locker, Mike McCoy or Kyle Shanahan would do wonders for him. We need a coaching staff that will move him outside of the pocket, and let him do what he does best, not try to make him into Aaron Rodgers in his 2nd year in the NFL. Jake Locker can be an Aaron Rodgers type QB I believe with the right development, but asking him to be right now is just dumb. McNair started off running alot of short easy completions and evolved into airing it out downfield, this is what we need from Locker.

We need to have Locker under center more (why a team with an young QB lines up in the shotgun is beyond me, MOST teams rarely run from the shotgun, it's like telling the D "Hey, we're gonna throw so don't play the run")

First trade back goes to us! Give us ammunition to trade up for Clowney if need be!

I thought you were gonna contact me for the next forum mock...

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Originally Posted by phlysac

I heard that Sylvester Stallone wrote The Expendables with The Alex in mind. He had to keep it realistic though and split The Alex's abilities into multiple characters. Stallone thought that critics would pan it for being too far-fetched if he just had one character effing everyone up.

Bobo I think you hit the nail on the head. Martin is our best pass rushing DT (aside from Klug, who doesn't play anymore). And is a good penetrator. He and Casey need to be playing alongside each other.

I think it'd be a good starting combo. Of course we could have several options in the draft at DT, so we could stock up at the position. Maybe Klug has to be used mostly in passing situations, but many times this year he was not in when I thought he should be. We've had problems using our strengths at times.

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To me, Morgan and Wimbley are both slightly above average DEs. I'm ok with one of them starting, and the other in rotation but we need a pass rusher at DE whether it's Osi, Michael Johnson, Damontre Moore, Barkevious Mingo, Jarvis Jones etc. We are really only 1 deep at DE and in this league you have to realistically have at least 3 guys, preferably 4. We need to sign one AND take one in the first 2-3 rounds. Why we have ignored it the past few years is beyond me.

I think Wimbly is the one I'd put in rotation, but I wonder if they'd do that this soon after his contract. And would they sign a fairly large contract to another FA DE this year? Remember when we used to draft 2-3 guys at a position of need? Would we do that again? They to stack up however they do it.

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You can grab interior lineman in the 3-4 that can start day one.

If a guy looks really good, I wouldn't mind a 2nd on interior. But we've got guys like Pillar, Olsen, and Stewart in rounds 3-5 I believe.

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I think Markelle Martin will be the backup to Griffin. He's nearly a Griffin clone (good and the bad). We need a SS in a bad way.

My thought was to have Martin more as a FS and Griffin at SS. Drafting a S high would be cool with me, but I still have some hope for Martin. I don't think we could do much worse than all the combos we threw out there this year.

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I don't know if you spend a high draft pick on a CB, maybe in the 3rd at the earliest unless the value is just too great to pass up. I have felt for many years we needed to upgrade the pass rush because you can't properly grade your DBs until you have a pass rush. We put up decent sack numbers this year, but weren't getting pressure on a regular basis to grade.

I always lean towards pass rushers who help the less talented DB's look better. But if we have an iffy DE there and a CB who we feel much better about, I can see taking the CB. My hope is that we find a DE we really like.

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I go back years on the fact we never should have let Blount go, why did we do that? Either way, I think we need another RB to at least get some carries.

When they said they thought he would surely make it to the practice squad, I was ok with that because of the other RB's we had. When Tampa signed him, I just shook my head. We messed up. I still love CJ, but he's not a consistent 3 yards and a cloud of dust like Eddie was. I'd like to see a simple, strong, downhill runner get the ball some and try to keep the offense on the field. I see Jamaal Charles rotates with a back we had for awhile, Jackie Battle, who has been solid from what I can tell. I'd look at Lattimore and his recovery, but I'd think his value may not be till 4-5. Not exactly what I'd look for right now, but he could be a steal in the long term.

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As for Locker, Mike McCoy or Kyle Shanahan would do wonders for him. We need a coaching staff that will move him outside of the pocket, and let him do what he does best, not try to make him into Aaron Rodgers in his 2nd year in the NFL. Jake Locker can be an Aaron Rodgers type QB I believe with the right development, but asking him to be right now is just dumb. McNair started off running alot of short easy completions and evolved into airing it out downfield, this is what we need from Locker.

We need to have Locker under center more (why a team with an young QB lines up in the shotgun is beyond me, MOST teams rarely run from the shotgun, it's like telling the D "Hey, we're gonna throw so don't play the run")

Yeah we have to use Jake to his strengths which is part of determining our identity. Progressing like McNair makes sense, and he wasn't really Air McNair by his second season. Knowing that gives me hope for Jake. I think Jake has a better arm, but is less accurate. They can both offer the rush threat, Jake just has to know when and how to use it. His pocket awareness needs work too. I don't know if it was hurt shoulder or the fact there were so many new guys on the o-line at times, but he was sometimes feeling pressure that wasn't quite there yet.

On a random side note, we really missed out on Geno Atkins. He looked great for our system and needs at the time. Oh well, we got Damian Williams and Alteran Verner instead -_-

I've gotten some good reviews so far. Quite a few people whose opinions I hold in high regard liked the Richardson (Deep) and Carradine (ATL, Tackle) picks. Matthews Jones, who's modding this one, ranks us in his Top 5.

I would've gone with Elam if we needed a FS, but since SS is what we're lacking, I went with the 6'2, 212 lbs. stud over the 5'10, 202 lbs. stud. Personally, I'm a big fan of Reid. Developed a man-crush on him when I saw the first Bama/LSU game last year, and for the longest time, I wanted him as our 1st RD pick (before it become brutally apparent that we needed depth and talent along the DL). And although I don't think his junior year was as good as his sophomore year, he was still stellar and a unanimous 1st team All-American. Dude's smart too. I just think he fits more of what we need right now.

And I'll admit that part of me is worried about Elam. I'm not sure he'll be able to throw his body around in the NFL like he does in college. I like his instincts, and how he finds and naturally flows to the ball, but I've seen him headhunt (Along with whoever #9 is. That's all that dude ever does). I don't want Michael Griffin 2.0.

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Originally Posted by The Alex

I thought you were gonna contact me for the next forum mock...

I knew there was someone who wanted to do it! But I didn't know I had to find you! You can Co-GM the rest of it with me! We still have our 5th, 6th, and 7th RD picks, and that's the most fun. Not the band, but the feeling.

I knew there was someone who wanted to do it! But I didn't know I had to find you! You can Co-GM the rest of it with me! We still have our 5th, 6th, and 7th RD picks, and that's the most fun. Not the band, but the feeling.

It's alright bro, just let me know on the next one. I'm sure we'll have one once the Super Bowl ends. I'd much rather be there from the start.

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Originally Posted by phlysac

I heard that Sylvester Stallone wrote The Expendables with The Alex in mind. He had to keep it realistic though and split The Alex's abilities into multiple characters. Stallone thought that critics would pan it for being too far-fetched if he just had one character effing everyone up.

I heard that Sylvester Stallone wrote The Expendables with The Alex in mind. He had to keep it realistic though and split The Alex's abilities into multiple characters. Stallone thought that critics would pan it for being too far-fetched if he just had one character effing everyone up.

Speaking of gifs, I was gonna use this one last year had the Titans got DeCastro. It might have violated the NSFW terms of the board so I've spoiled it here for that reason. Regardless, I think it was perfect.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by phlysac

I heard that Sylvester Stallone wrote The Expendables with The Alex in mind. He had to keep it realistic though and split The Alex's abilities into multiple characters. Stallone thought that critics would pan it for being too far-fetched if he just had one character effing everyone up.

I wanted to address OL earlier, but the value never matched up. I did take a great run-blocker in Uzzi though, and he excels at pulling as well. Hansen has the prototypical size and strength you look for, but is a better pass-blocker than run-blocker. Both just need technique work. I was also interested in FB Zach Line and FB Lonnie Pryor, but both seemed more like priority UDFA's.

I still like the thought of us trading back in the 1st, but in the future, I'll demand a 2013 3rd RD pick instead so I can take an OL early who can instantly contribute. Prefferably C Travis Frederick, RG Larry Warford, G/T Brian Winters, or G/T Kyle Long. Jay Ratliff in a 4-3 front will be exciting, and gives us a dynamite DT rotation with Casey, Richardson, Martin, and Klug.

In FA, we'd also add a RE and G/C. That's wouldn't be the entire FA class, but those two spots would be priority.

According to my calculations, so far we have relieved the RBs, TEs, LBs, and special teams coaches. A couple of those are questionable IMO. But more questionable is that there has been no movement at the coordinator positions. I'm starting to get impatient.

According to my calculations, so far we have relieved the RBs, TEs, LBs, and special teams coaches. A couple of those are questionable IMO. But more questionable is that there has been no movement at the coordinator positions. I'm starting to get impatient.

I'm ok with letting the RB and TE coach go. That's whatever, and apparently Cookie still had his problems, so the TE coach needs to do a better job. Plus, outside of an uber talent in CJ, no other RB has stepped up, and that can fall on the RB coach I guess.

But LB and ST's? Two of our best groups? I thought our special teams were fantastic this year, outside of punt protection. And seeing as how Ayers has come along nicely, and Brown, who many people thought was a better athlete than football player, exploded as the season ended into an explosive playmaker, I thought Frank Bush absolutely deserved to stay. In fact, I think Bush deserved to stay more than any coach on the staff. He's a good LB coach, and there's a reason he became Houston's DC there for a while. Someone tweeted Keith Bulluck saying they wanted him as the new LB coach, and apparently he responded back positively, so I guess that'd be neat if it happened.

Firing Alan Lowry and Frank Bush are terrible decisions by Munchak. He better have done it because he's bringing in substantially better coaches now that he's able to make these decisions at an earlier point in the offseason, unlike when he was promoted. And what are we doing with Dowell Loggains? Is he seriously staying at OC? Munchak is on the hot seat. Why is he not doing everything possible to surround himself with coaches of such high quality, that he hardly has to do a thing as a HC but root them on?

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Originally Posted by smittyjs

Thoughts on Jerry gray being the d coordinator next year? Not a big fan here myself......

I thought he was terribly inconsistent as a DC. I think there are upgrades who are available, such as Rob Ryan, Lovie Smith, and even Gregg Williams. But in the end, I think you need the horses in order to really compete, and I don't think Gray had the talent at his disposal. Average DE's, no DE depth, young DT's, no SS, and Michael Griffin being the last line of defense. I'm ok with giving him another year if we bring in a DE via FA, bring in a DE via draft, bring in a SS via FA/draft, and perhaps add an explosive pass-rushing DT via draft. Lets see how he uses the LB's when the DL can hold it's own, and see if he can improve Griffin and the CB's by adding a good SS to pair with them.

But would I rather add the talent and bring in an obvious upgrade at the DC spot? Yes.

Technically they weren't fired, their contracts were up and they just weren't re-signed. Semantics, I know. However, I've been saying for a while that this staff is full of buffoons and I see no vision or direction from them. Every move screams of excuse-making and "lets try and save our jobs for another year!" It's a rudderless ship. That said, changing the position coaches is not that big of a deal, in the grand scheme of things, to me. I think it's a bit naive to assume that they are great coaches just because we happen to have some promising players at their positions. Maybe these guys would be even better with another coach. Maybe they wouldn't. Honestly who knows? As outsiders looking in, I feel that position coaches are the hardest ones to evaluate because no one truly knows how much impact they are actually having.